Here’s a hotel trend I’ll be keeping my eye on, if for no other reason than I find it rather odd. --Ok, it totally creeps me out. For those who weren’t aware, Britain has been facing some freakishly cold weather lately. And working with a sleep specialist, some UK Holiday Inn hotels have opted to try out human bed warmers in order to increase guest comfort.

Warm-blooded staffers will apparently crawl into your hotel bed before you are ready to catch some shut-eye, and sit there, warming the sheets, so you can crawl into a nice cozy bed. These self-aware heating units are wearing what looks like head-to-toe white hazmat suits. A quote from the article about this special gear: “The bed warmers toasting suits were specially designed to maximise sheet heating efficiency.”

I’d be more concerned about cooties, myself. I’m one of those travelers who pull back the bedspread before I sit on the bed, and I often wonder how many others have used that pillow before me. I can’t imagine inviting MORE strangers in, even if they do hop out before I hop in.

Three UK hotels will be offering the complimentary five-minute service this week.

It’s an interesting offering, and I suspect it’s been added to do more than just combat the cold. As the hotel industry worldwide starts to flatten/starts to recover (depending on who you talk to), human bed warmers would certainly stir up some buzz. And as creepy as it sounds, I do secretly wonder if I’d be tempted to order the service. Just so I could say I did.  (Shaun Amanda Herrmann)

 Full article: http://bit.ly/5LFrOR

Much like shoes, a girl can never have enough diamonds. They’re pretty, they tend to hold their value, a lot of work goes into making them (something like a million years?), you could say they’re a status symbol… and let’s face it, they’re pretty. And sparkly.

So it’s no wonder Richmond’s own classy lady, The Jefferson Hotel, is dripping with the darned things. She’s won AAA’s top rating (again!) for 2010. That would be FIVE diamonds for those of you who are counting.

She’s one of only two hotels in the Commonwealth to sport such finery, the other being The Inn at Little Washington in northern VA.

And while you might think such a lady would be stuffy and old-fashioned, you have but to visit the new fashion-forward Lemaire restaurant and take advantage of standard guest amenities like remote wireless document printing (seriously, even from your car), to realize she’s a Modern Southern Belle.

It’s an honor for us to partner with a femme of her caliber, matching advertising creative efforts from traditional to social media with her unique personality. Just like us, the lady has a lot going on.

And of course, there’s those diamonds. Lots of diamonds.

Check out the recent Times-Dispatch article for more information http://bit.ly/jeffersondiamonds or surf AAA to find out more about those diamonds http://bit.ly/aaadiamonds. 

(Shaun Amanda Herrmann)